The Bare Necessities of Kuta Night-Life.

Responding to numerous complaints from the local community and suggestions that agitated neighbor were getting ready to take matters into their own hands, a team of district and village officials - backed up with a cadre of local citizenry, swooped down on a Kuta night spot rounding up scantily-clad exotic dancers and the bars' management for a late-night "meeting" at the Lurah or Sub-district chief's office.

The "raid", which took place at 11 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2009, focused on Club Vi Ai Pi on Jalan Raya Legian in Kuta, just meters away from the "Ground Zero" monument commemorating the 202 who died in the 2002 Bali bombing.

Officials were responding to numerous complaints about scantily clad female strip tease dancers who regular perform on the sidewalks outside the Club Vi Ai Pi and the nearby Sky Garden Restaurant.Both the two dancers and the management of the two establishments were served with stern warnings and reminders from local village officials for presenting programs that disturb public order and have contributed to more than a few traffic jams along the busy thoroughfare.

Quoted in DenPost, a Kuta official, IGN Sudira, said that any future violations would see his office accompanied by a large posse of local residents descend on the clubs to close them down. Explained Sudira: "We are not against this sort of dancing, but the management (of the clubs) must look at it from the aspect of maintaining the "esthetic" of the main roads. If these dances take place inside the clubs, there is no problem. But if these dances disturb the public space - then it becomes a problem."

The Chairman of the local community council (LPM), I Nyoman Graha Wicaksana, told the press that the people of Kuta were fed up with promises from the management of the clubs to end the street-side strip tease performances. Claiming the government was too weak in enforcing the law, Wicaksana said that community leaders were compelled to take matters into their own hands, adding: "By conducting a sweeping campaign, such as this, we hope the management will make amends and obey the existing laws of the traditional village of Kuta."